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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

I am a firm believer that God answers EVERY prayer we offer up, even if it's not the way we want Him to. He answers prayers the way that is best, not always the way we (read: I!) want Him to.

Today, though, God and I were on the same page. :) I had an OB appointment this afternoon. Usually Rory goes to daycare while I go to my appointments, but unfortch, there was no room for Rory at daycare today. So along with me she went! I prayed all the way there that Rory would be well behaved and not stress the doctor out. I wanted the appointment to be a blessing, not a curse! :) I was prepared, toys, snacks, drinks, everything.

Didn't even need it! My doctor totally came through for me. He was excited to see Rory, being as he was my doctor with her too. He took her on a little tour of the exam room, explained what he was doing, let her step on the lever to raise and lower the chair. Then after he listened to Trace's heartbeat, Rory lifted up her shirt like she was ready for her turn. So he "listened" to her belly and even wiggled the doppler so it sounded like a baby was in there. She LOOOOVED it! I really couldn't have been happier. He was so sweet to her and me and made the appointment no big deal.

Speaking of which...no change or progress whatsoever in the baby department. Ugh! haha I know, I know, I know. The longer he's in, the better for him. I get it! But it doesn't stop me from counting the seconds until this pressure is off my chest! :) Maybe next Tuesday...

Sunday, September 26, 2010

I totally stole this from Melissa. Her blog is super cute! Check her out. :)

Anyways, I'm not up for doing any more work tonight, so I am going to do this meme. :) Dave is working overtime and Rory is asleep. (Well...in her crib talking to herself. That's a whole other story though. Sleeping is a saga in our house right now!) But anyways! Here we go! I'm including some wedding pictures and things through out because I LOVED my dress and my hair and my husband looks pretty fantastic in a tux, if I do say so myself. (Laura will probably throw up in her mouth at that one! ;))

1. When is your "engagement" anniversary?This is hard for me to remember. It was a Monday in July and I have the 8th in my head as the number, but I need to look it up right now...It was the 10th! July 10, 2006. I was close! I should get it engraved inside my engagement ring...hmmm...

2. When is your "marriage" anniversary?This I do know! (haha) March 24, 2007

3. How long have you known your spouse?We became friends in the summer of 2005...so over 5 years now.

4. How long did you date before you were engaged?We started dating in December of 2005 and got engaged in July of 2006...7 months or so I guess.

5. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time?We met on Myspace! BAHAHAHAHA. I love it. It's not creepy though, my friend was dating his cousin, so we weren't like random strangers. I also thought he WAS his cousin's brother in his profile picture, so I added him without realizing I didn't know him.

6. What is your spouses full name?David Gerard. But I call him Gravey and Grave, for no real reason.

7. Do you have any children?Sure do! Rory was born on May 6, 2009 and Trace is due on October 25! (That's 29 days away, in case you were curious.)

8. How many? Boys/GirlsOh. Uh. Oops.

Well 1 girl, 1 boy. And we are DONE.

9. Do you have any house pets?Yep, a little black and white maltipoo named Millie. She's awesome, so loving and not aggressive at all. Perfect dog to have around kids.

10. Do you own a house or rent?We own our little house, well have a mortgage on it. God willing, we'll keep paying it down down down and own it before Rory is done with school!

11. Do you live in the country/town/city?Forest. Well a town in the forest. :)

12. What is one of your favorite activities to do together?We *love* football and love to go to games together. High school, college, pro, doesn't matter, we just like the game. I hate going to Penn State games though, much to Dave's disappointment. I am claustrophobic and sitting THAT close to 110,000 other people makes me so uncomfortable. I'll tailgate though and go watch it at a friend's house. That's why STEELERS games are awesome, Heinz Field is way more spread out. ;)

13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot?DISNEY!!! We're totally in a Disney phase right now, because of the kids we tell ourselves. :) Anywhere with Dave would be fun! We want to go on a cruise someday, take the kids to a Bahamian resort somewhere, Europe, Australia...the list is long and expensive. But we'll save until we get there! :)

14. When did you first kiss?December of 2005.

15. What church do you attend?First United Methodist here in town

16. Is this the church you were married in?It was! Different Pastor now, though. :( (Pastor Bill is very nice, don't get me wrong!)

Us with our second of three kisses during the wedding. Pastor David is the best! :)

17. What town is current address at?Small Town, USA.

18. Do you work or stay home?Work from home in the morning with Rory, work at the studio in the evening.

19. Where did you go on your honeymoon?We went to Pawley's Island, South Carolina. Heaven!!

(P.S. I can't WAIT to be skinny like that again!)

20. What was the funniest gift one of you gave while dating?Dave got me an extra copy of my favorite movie, Down With Love, because I thought mine was scratched...actually it was just my DVD player! haha :)

21. How long have you been together?5 years. :)

22. How long did you know each other before you started dating?6 or 7 months

23. Who asked who out?He did, believe it or not!

24. How old are each of you?I'm 25 and he's 26.

25. Where do each of you go to school?We don't. He went to Penn State, though, and I went to Allegheny.

26. Which situation is hardest on you as a couple?We struggle with his desire to golf every day in the summer. He tries really hard to balance but sometimes it really interferes with our marriage. We're working on it though. It was a lot better this season, though. Hopefully next season will be even better...We have 2 other issues that come to mind but we are working on it every day. That's all any married couple can do. Pray about it and work on it.

27. Did you go to the same school?Nope never.

28. Are you from the same town?Nope!

29. Who is smarter?MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! hahaha Who knows, actually. We're both smart at different areas. I can't add, for example. :) Dave is incredibly mechanical and computer smart, I am business/history/English smart. We balance each other nicely.

30. Who is more sensitive?Well clearly me, especially now.

31. Where do you eat out most as a couple?In our little town? The pizza shop that delivers because Rory LOVES cheese pizza!Out of town? Olive Garden?

32. Where is the farthest you two have traveled as a couple?Disney. :)

33. Who has the craziest exes?Oh that's an incredibly close tie. haha

34. Who has the worse temper?David! Most definitely!!

35. Who does the cooking?Me! Dave can make macaroni and cheese.

36. Who is more social?I used to say it was me, but now I think it's Dave. He definitely has more friends than I do.

37. Who is the neat-freak?ME. Holy cow, pick up your clothes, David.

38. Who is more stubborn?DAVID GERARD!

39. Who hogs the bed?Dave likes to sleep diagonally and stick his legs under mine when I curl up.

40. Who wakes up earlier?Dave on the weekdays, me on the weekends.

41. Where was your first date?My parents' house, of course. He could have been a total weirdy!

42. Who had more boyfriends/girlfriends?He did.

43. Do you get flowers often?Not as often as you would think someone who's husband's grandma owns a flower shop would! ;)

44. How do you spend the holidays?Typically, we do my family at Thanksgiving, his for Christmas dinner and then for Easter we do whomever has more family coming in. We see both of our families very often, so it's never really a big deal.

45. Who is more jealous?Neither of us, really. We're past all that nonsense.

46. How long did it take to get serious?About 30 seconds.

47. Who eats more?Dave!

48. Who does the laundry?We do our own, because I like things a certain way and he has stinky work clothes.

49. Who is better with the computer?Dave, definitely.

50. Leave a piece of advice for other couples.It's absolutely okay to go to bed angry. Sometimes a good night of sleep helps you see things straighter in the morning. Just don't forget to talk things out when you're both calmed down. PRAY for each other.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

I'm super crabby today and I don't mean to be. I don't WANT to be, I should say. I am choosing to reform my attitude right now. I woke up super early and frustrated, because I had to pee and it hurt like nobody's business to get out of bed. To a pregnant woman, that's like asking me to run a marathon. In high heels. Just let me spring out of bed, hit the bathroom and get back in bed and fall asleep easily. :)

I'm choosing to count my blessings and remind myself that this time of my life came to pass not to stay, thank God. One more blink and Trace will be here, two blinks and it's Christmas then bam Rory's two...time marches on.

1) I'm really thankful that Rory likes to dance and groove to the music. We listen to Christian music on the tv every morning and she dances around and around the living room. She loves to watch herself in the mirror. (No CLUE where she got that...hehe) She waits for me to watch her then wants applause at the end. It's my favorite time of the day.

2) On that same subject, Rory is currently putting away her toys without anyone telling her to. She just put a piece of toast left over from breakfast on a plate from her Tea Set and is now putting the rest of the tea set away. Who is this child?!

3) I'm thankful today is Thursday and if I feel as awful at dance tonight as I did last night, I can leave.

4) God blessed me BIG TIME when Elizabeth moved to town. She and my mom have been life savers through out this pregnancy. (And my 5 senior assistants too, by the way.)

5) It rained yesterday and that always helps spark my creativity.

6) Rory and I are going to go to the studio this morning so I can get some work done. I'm thankful she's content with her toys and bug car up there.

7) I'm thankful for $5 baby days at Old Navy. It really helped me fill out Rory's fall/winter wardrobe for not a lot of money. That's a relief!

8) I am thankful that in a month and a few days, I can drink ALL THE COFFEE I WANT!!!!!!!

9) The Office starts tonight!! It's hands down my favorite sitcom of all time. (Favorite show all together, though, is Gilmore Girls.) It's such a mindless half hour of laughing and it conveniently comes at the end of my teaching week.

10) I'm thankful that Glee is doing all BRITNEY next week!! I can't help it, I love her music. (Note the use of the word music and not her)

11) I'm thankful that the holidays are coming up soon and I will get to see my sister a lot. I miss her. I don't have a lot of friends anymore and my sister is the best one I could ask for.

12) (These seem to come in sets of two) I'm thankful that my parents are fantastic and have never ONCE made me and Dave feel pressured or stressed about where to go on each holiday. His parents are great at this too, I should mention! No one gets upset or jealous and it's such a relief. We usually go wherever the most family is coming in for. Easy. This year, we're doing Thanksgiving at my Aunt's, mainly out of convenience of having a one month old. She's 5 minutes from my house. :) Christmas dinner will probably be at his family, usually is. See. Easy. No stress!

13) I'm thankful my dad is coming over on Saturday to help tear the border down in the nursery, sand the walls and fill the holes so on Sunday, mom and I can paint the nursery finally. This kid is coming SOON and has no where to sleep yet. :( (Mainly because we haven't set up his crib. hahaha)

14) I am thankful for Dave. <3

15) Mostly, I am thankful that at the end of the day tonight, I can check off one more day. I am that much closer to being done being pregnant. One day closer to actually having our little man here. I'm looking forward to sleepless nights, because those quiet, late night moments are when I first bonded with Rory. I can't wait. <3

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

I'm linking up with Leigh over at www.myleighashley.com for this week's WBOMW. I love this meme, but I usually forget about until the weekend. Ha! So anyways...here we go!

{one} what is your happiest childhood memory?There's absolutely no way I can pick just one. My parents are amazing people and our childhoods were filled with fantastic memories. The summer before 9th grade, we went on a cross country road trip for 6 weeks. My mom wrote and performed a one woman musical called "Mary" that told the life story of Jesus through Mary's eyes. We traveled all over the US and Canada every weekend and tons in the summer for almost 10 years with her musical. A really great experience, for sure.

My favorite memories though are from dance and plays through out the years. I won't bore you with tons of stories and ridiculousness, but I will share this picture of my family. This was my mom's first LARGE scale musical directing project and my first musical to choreograph. My sister was Annie and my Dad was Daddy Warbucks. We are a theatrical family to say the least...

{two} what is your middle name?Rebecca

{three} what’s the habit you’re most proud of breaking?Over spending! Oh my goodness, I tend to be a spendaholic. I have worked really hard to curb my urges to spendddddd. :)

{four} what do you order when you order chinese food?I loooove Chinese and I like just about everything. Right now, I'm really into chicken and brocolli with brown sauce. I am also a huge fan of chicken and cashews and sesame chicken to name a few.

{five} what’s the best bargain you’ve ever found at a garage sale or thrift store?No clue. I'm not huge into garage sales or thrift stores, I have to say.

{six} what’s the best costume you’ve ever worn?When I was maybe 8, my mom had Belle dresses made for Chelsea and I. I got my in traditional Belle gold with the green roses. Chelsea's was hot pink and purple! bahahahaha

Friday, September 17, 2010

I am so upset today. I am blaming my inner rage on being pregnant, because usually I don't sweat the small stuff. I'm pretty good at taking it in stride and just dealing with stuff. But I need to vent, so here we go.

1) To ALL sports coaches. I strive to make my dance studio athlete friendly. Could you please put forth ANY effort whatsoever to be dancer friendly? I excuse absences, I support my dancers' teams, I ask questions about how things are going, console upset kids who didn't make the team, discuss strategy for beating a tough opponent...and I know NOTHING about soccer or volleyball or basketball. Seriously, nothing. Football, sure, but other sports? No way. I do my best though because I am a teacher because I like KIDS. It is incredibly rude of you to tell my students that dance should come last and that it's not nearly as important as whatever sport you are coaching. Sure, it might seem that way to you but keep your mouth SHUT. A kid can have lots of interests and there's absolutely no reason why we can't all work together. I'm not asking you to allow your players to miss every practice or play in a game when they haven't been at practice. I'm not stupid, I get it. Dance runs all year, so of course there's more opportunity to catch up. I'm just asking that you a) do not bad mouth ME or dance in front of your players b) be understanding when competition and recital season roll around and c) just be a nice human being who supports KIDS versus needing that perfect record. Get a grip. We live in the middle of the forest. These kids are fantastic people, but don't put expectations on them.

2) I am so upset! My daycare has 7 full time babies now and that means Rory can't drop in as often anymore. :( Fantastic for them but sad for us! I was hoping to get her going every Tues and Thurs from now until Thanksgiving and then add Trace one day a week after that. So sad!! I am hunting for other options but I will still be using our daycare when I can. They were really understanding about Rory's mommy issues and she always comes home happy and worn out. Best way to pick up a kid for sure! :)

3) I finally got the last costume book in that I have been waiting for. I order the bulk of my costumes each year from this company. I would say of the 400+ costumes I order a year, 70% comes from this company! They are the best. Well priced, amazing customer service, etc etc etc. Well usually my catalog comes well before Labor Day. It didn't come until YESTERDAY because someone took the first copy out of my mailbox. My customer service rep assured me when I called 2 weeks ago that it had been mailed out and should arrive in a day or two at the latest. Fine, I get that. My last name starts with a U and my studio is an "S" so sure, that could be in the last batch of mailing. Nope. It never showed up. I called again on Monday and they rushed it to me. Trust me, they don't want to lose my *large* order! I am so ticked though! Who would take it out of my mailbox?! It comes in a grey mailing envelope from UPS. It's not like flashy or looks like a check or something that would make you think WOW I WANT TO STEAL THAT! Ugh. People are so dumb sometimes.

4) I am awfully mad at my body right now. I'm feeling fantastic every morning, ready to move and groove as needed. But by 2:00 pm, I am dead. Every muscle from my stomach down is aching. Want to guess what time my work day starts? 2:30. Figures! I am just ready. to. give. birth. :)

You know what. I'm feeling a little better already. Have a good weekend, friends. I am going to the Cheesecake Factory tomorrow so I know my weekend will be great. I've been craving the peanut chicken pasta since FEBRUARY. :)

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

It's no secret, especially to my dancers. I'm obsessed with Lady Gaga. It's kind of a problem. It all started when a friend of mine suggested I listen to the song "Just Dance" in 2007. Love at first listen. Gaga can SING, for real. I put it in the dance recital and it's been a love affair at the studio ever since. This year our theme is books and my advanced hip hop class is doing a mix of Lady Gaga songs I made called the Little Monsters Mix. Appropriately, this corresponds to the book Frankenstein. (Of course! :))

Last night the Theatricality episode of Glee was on TV. (Another problem...Dave and I *love* us some serious Glee.) I watched it before I fell asleep and I'm watching it again right now. And I think I found the root of my problem.

I want to live in a world where everyone dresses in costume and full makeup 24/7. I want to walk in to the grocery store and everyone breaks in to song about bread and eggs with a chorus about apples and oranges. This is where my Gaga obsession is rooted! She lives that life. She's always dressed up like something awesome. I am (quite healthily) jealous of that ability. What a life to be able to wake up in the morning and reinvent yourself daily. Clearly, Lady G isn't living her "real life" out in the public, she's portraying a character, a specific type of celebrity. She's doing it up right, I must say, and I am JEALOUS!! :)

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Rory woke up at 2:30 this morning. She was just babbling away in her crib, so I ignored her and watched a little tv. She fell back to sleep after like 15 minutes. Fantastic! Rory then woke up at 3:45, saying Dadaaaa, Dadaaaa, Dadaaaa. This means nothing because Dave can't hear the monitor in his sleep. (No, he's not just being lazy he really really can't!) After a few minutes, it became MAMA! MAMA! MAMA! MAMA! MAMA! She got quiet for a few minutes and then...I PEE! PEE! PEE! PEE!Are you kidding me?!By the time I got in there, Rory had her pants OFF and thrown across the room. She was moving in on her diaper. Oh no thank YOU, Rory Beth-Ann. I changed her and then we spent an hour rocking and waiting for her to get tired again. Ridiculous.

***************************************************************

We were super blessed with two big garbage bags of baby boy clothes today! Thank you thank you thank you!

****************************************************************Dave and I get a night without Rory and an entire Saturday this weekend. Holy moly! Ro is staying at my mom's then going to visit my sister on Saturday. Dave and I are going to sleep early and in as late as possible (haha!) then we are going to Pittsburgh for an eye doctor appointment for him. He's getting Lasik finally this December or January and he has his first preliminary appointment on Saturday. I'm thinking we'll be hitting the Cheesecake Factory too...:)

******************************************************************Lastly...I could really use a maid and a cook. I'll pay a ton...of hugs! Any takers?? :)

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

I am 32 weeks pregnant. I am ginormous. My c-section is scheduled for noon on October 25th. I'm not all together sure I can make it. I'm having the worst time moving around.

Is it normal, mamas with 2 kids, to feel like Trace might fall through my pelvis at any moment? I really feel like he is riding on my pelvic bone, practicing his soccer moves. The mornings aren't too bad, but by the time I get home from work, I can barely move. I needed help into bed last night. YUCK. My Dr. checked me and everything is fine, I'm just uncomfortable. And kinda crabby, but trying really hard not to be crabby. I'm really really really trying. I haven't snapped at any students this week! Yay! And I'm remembering to hold my tongue and not get frustrated with Dave as easily. No need to, he doesn't mean to be annoying! :)

On a lighter note...here's some recent cuteness from Rory!

Hanging out at the fair. :)

Looking all kinds of grown up at the end of summer Sunday School party.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Correction! It is not even STARTED. We are doing a Penn State theme, which is Dave's alma mater as well as most the men in my family. Penn State football is a big thing for us and it's a cute idea. Wonderful. Easy, actually. Navy and blue are nice colors for boys, there's plenty of Penn State decorations out there.

But. There are none that I like.

Picky picky picky, I know!! I can't find crib bedding I like, and I personally think crib bedding is kind of ridiculous. We literally had Rory's Winnie the Pooh stuff on for 1.5 months before she started scooting in to it and it had to come off. Sure the bed skirt was nice but every time I changed her sheet, it fell off. So I am not ordering fancy crib bedding for Mr. Trace. I have instead found several sheets I like, different shades of blue. One is super cute, light blue and white stripes, which will help brighten up the room nicely. That's wonderful, but I keep putzing around and not actually ORDERING any of it.

Until tonight. I just ordered a woven blanket to hang on the wall as art work and am about to order all the sheets for his crib. I can't find this one window valance I like, but I found a good alternative. BAM. Ordering that sucker. I'd like to find a lamp, a diaper hanger, some blue and white canvas bins, a Nittany Lion mobile, a stuffed Lion for in his crib. I need to get some wall art. I'm going to have one of my former students who is an incredible artist paint a lion for me then frame it. I'll surround it with pictures I have taken of Beaver Stadium and ones my Aunt has taken as well.

Any other suggestions for not too grown up but not "BABY!" stuff we could put in his room? We do NOT do wall paper in this house, after spending 2 weeks pulling it off Rory's rooms walls. Maybe something with a jersey? Thoughts? Help?!

Being pregnant makes me picky and impatient. I don't like that about myself!!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Attention, all. This baby factory is shutting down permanently on October 26, 2010.

There.

I am 31 weeks and 5 days pregnant and I am physically miserable. I had to go to the ER on Wednesday night because I lost over half my vision in my left eye and a few spots of vision in my right. My left hand was also falling asleep randomly. (Before you ask, no I am not retaining water. I'm not swollen at all, thankfully! Chalk that up to chasing a toddler all day. :))

Here's how it all began...I was teaching my advanced acrobatics class on Wednesday night. My studio is super warm in heat like we've been having, so we were taking it easy. We were all actually sitting in front of the fans, talking about "setting up back tucks." (like you care! :)) I was speaking to a girl named Allison and all of a sudden, I couldn't see her face. Like...it disappeared into a black hole. I thought it was just a floater or something, so I rubbed my eyes and blinked...and nothing. It got progressively worse. I left the room and went to call my mom, I couldn't see my cell phone to dial! Scary stuff. I let my class go early, which no one minded thanks to this EXTREME heat.

My dad, the best dad in the world just so you know, came down and watched tv at my house while Rory slept. Dave and I drove to the ER and I was diagnosed with 2 lovely things:1) Pregnancy induced Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. what. the. heck. okay.2) Ocular Migraines. These are not necessarily painful migraines behind your eyes. Mine don't have any pain when they are happening, but I did wake up with a minor headache yesterday after the episode was over.

There's nothing we can do about either thing. I just have to wait it out. Add that to the list of things I'm just waiting out. I'm waiting out this intense rib pain, my sciatica and now ocular migraines and random bouts of carpal tunnel.

All this uncomfortable stuff is making me crabby, and I don't mean to be. It's making me exhausted, which is typical, but not necessary. It's putting me on edge, it's limiting my work, I actually had to back out of a dance committment for today which I really try never to do! (Not a big deal, we just rescheduled for next week...but still!) I am short tempered with Dave, which is never good. I think I'm a little resentful, if I was to be perfectly honest. I'm tired of having weird things going on with my body that I can't control or really do anything about. I want this little man to be HERE, so I can fix his problems and feel better.

Isn't it weird that I am looking forward to C-section recovery?! FYI: It's not bad AT ALL. Yes, it's painful in your abdomen but I took the 600 mg Tylenol a few times a day the first week and after that I was fine. I never even got the "real" pain medicine perscription filled. It's more just an adjustment for a few days then anything.

With Rory, I had serious nauseau for 16 weeks or so and PUPP rash from week 22 to week 30. I also had the sciatica issues.

My body just doesn't do well being pregnant! I, thank the Lord, had little trouble getting pregnant and carry the babies to term just fine, but I deal with all sorts of WEIRD symptoms and side effects along the way. Because of all of this, my Doctor, Dave and I have decided that no more, no thank you, shut this thing DOWN.

I'm kinda relieved, to be honest. Dave and I only ever wanted 2 kids but I always worried I'd get sad for newborns and try for a 3rd. I know I don't want to have to worry about making that call. I need it to be over with.

This post is scattered, and I'm sorry. But I'm exhausted and worn out. I feel pretty awful today, nauseuous and sore. I'm doing the absolute best I can and it's not getting me very far today. Say a prayer for me! It's a long 8 weeks ahead.